"On my part, I remain committed to the process of dialogue. It is my firm belief that dialogue and a willingness to look with honesty and clarity at the reality of Tibet can lead us to a viable solution."

China Denies Any Role in 'GhostNet' Computer Hacking

Beijing officials deny any involvement in the
electronic spy ring dubbed "GhostNet," which has
infiltrated more than 1,000 computers around the
world and has been linked to computers in China.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang rejected
allegations of a link between the Chinese
government and a vast computer spying network. He
said in Beijing on Tuesday that the accusation
comes from people outside China who, "are bent on
fabricating lies of so-called Chinese computer spies."

Qin says outside of China there is a "Cold War
Ghost." He says people haunted by this ghost also
suffer from a virus called "China threat," which
he says makes people want to tarnish China with lies.

News reports this week said Canadian researchers
discovered the so-called GhostNet spy network
when the Dalai Lama's organization asked them to
examine its computers for harmful software.

The Canadian researchers say it is not clear the
hacking is government supported. They did
conclude that GhostNet's servers are almost
exclusively located in China, and its targets are
political, including NATO, the Indian Embassy in
Washington and Tibetan exile centers in India, Brussels and London.

The Canadian report says there are real
consequences to the spying. For example, when the
Dalai Lama's organization sent an e-mail
invitation to a foreign diplomat, the diplomat
was contacted by the Chinese government and told
not to go through with the meeting.

When asked if the Chinese government is concerned
that computers in the spy ring are in China, Qin
said it is more important to track down the
people outside of China who were making these accusations.

He says the Dalai Lama and his supporters "always
live on lies and twisting facts."

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of most
Tibetans. He has been in exile for 50 years and
has long advocated greater autonomy from China
for Tibet, an idea that Beijing firmly rejects.

Two researchers at Cambridge University in
England released their own report about the
Tibet-related activities of the spy ring. They
more directly implicate the Chinese government,
but also warn that these hacking methods could
easily be adopted by criminals and others.